Knight
and squire/ronin: shield in knight/samurai: +sword in | hold_coins = +7 in and +5 for a squire/ronin in +11 for a knight/samurai, | company = 4 archers }} Knight or squad leader is a melee infantry subject that leads a small company of archers while defending the Kingdom, carrying out attacks on portals, escorting bombs to the cave and, in Kingdom: New Lands, escorting the boat to the dock. They wield a weapon and a shield and dons armor and a helmet. Squad leader A squad leader may be: * a knight, in Classic and in New Lands * a squire or knight, in Europe, Two Crowns * a ronin or samurai, Shogun, Two Crowns. Hiring in and 4 in | stock = Up to 4 shields | operated_by = Squad leader }} A shield is required to hire a squad leader. It is unlocked at the town center sixth tier, the castle keep. Unlike other weapons and tools, there is not a shop or vendor to sell shields. A shield can be purchased at the castle facade side for six coins each, and will hang on there until a villager takes it up to become a squad leader, after which each shield is replaced by a similarly colored banner, indicating that the troop leader still has his shield. If, without extra coins, he gets hit, unlike archers with their bows, his shield simply disappears when he turns back to being a villager. His banner will appear torn to shreds, indicating that the owner of that shield has fallen in battle, and a new shield can be bought there. Up to four shields can be waiting on there at a time, two on each side. Kingdoms can normally hire up to four squad leader per land. Squad leaders operate on the side their shield was bought. If they go onboard for a next island, they will split evenly after disembarking, with odd numbers favoring the dock side. – a shield is not enough to make a knight. Paying a shield to a villager turns him into a knight's or samurai's apprentice. That apprentice, called squire in Europe and ronin in Shogun, is able to perform all the tasks his master can do, but he has a much weaker defense. More shields It's possible to increase the number of squad leaders on an island by: * bringing up to three of them on the boat from another island (see Boat § Leaving the island for details), or * by purchasing extra shields from knight towers. Knight tower Upgrading }} The forge (or smithy) is required to turn an apprentice squad leader into a master. It is unlocked at the town center last tier, the iron keep and it requires a large enough empty space protected by an iron wall, that is, with an iron back wall (see picture). For this the Kingdom needs the iron technology, found on the fourth island. The forge may appear on the sea side or on the cliff side of the island. A sword or katana can be purchased there for twelve coins each. Once this is done, the sword attracts all apprentice warriors on the island, except those in a cave assault; the first reaching the weapon becomes a master. Up to four swords or katanas can be waiting on the weapon stand at a time. In Europe, a squire will take up a sword and become a knight. While in Shogun, a ronin will take up a katana to become a samurai. As a knight or samurai the warrior can hold more coins and can benefit from the Statue of Knights. Personal protection Squires and knights hold extra coins in order to buff their defensive capabilities. Each coin acts as a health buffer for them (much like with the Monarch), protecting them against all the greed, including floaters and the boulders thrown by breeders. A squire/knight with no coins will irretrievably lose their shield/sword when hit, becoming again a villager. Knights will collect up to seven coins in Classic / New Lands and eleven coins in Two Crowns; and squires, up to five coins. This makes the main difference between these units: knights are more resistant in battle if they've received all the coins they can hold. If the villager already had one or two extra coins with him before taking the shield, these one or two coins will count for the total amount of coins kept for personal protection when he becomes a squire/knight. Coins used for personal protection are much more effective when held by these melee warriors, than when held by any other character in the game, including the Monarch. When they are hit by a greed, they have a chance to block the attack without losing coins. Unlike other subjects, they won't drop back the extra coins they have for personal protection, if the Monarch stands by them. Squires and knights will collect coins dropped by the Monarch, dropped from hunted animals, and from cut trees. They will ignore coins dropped by the banker and from the unicorn. Company A squire or a knight's company is formed by up to four soldier archers. They enlist any free archers they pass by, until they have four archers under their control. The soldiers wear the Kingdom's colors on their clothes, much like knights. They still function similarly to regular archers, but they no longer hunt and instead follow their liege and focus on attacking monsters and portals instead of wildlife. Defense with knights During the day, idle squires and knights guard the borders by walking to or standing near the Kingdom's defensive line at the outer wall. As night falls, they pull just inside the outer wall along with their soldiers. When the Greed attacks the outer wall, squires and knights will stand ready as their soldiers shoot arrows over the wall. If the leaders sense, that the outer wall is going to fall, they will retreat with their companies to the next wall. Consequently the soldiers will be able to continue fighting wall by wall without being attacked by ground monsters, although they are still vulnerable to floaters. The squires and knights, if they have enough coins, are also able to block the rocks thrown by breeders, preventing the archers (hunters and soldiers) behind them from being hit. Assaulting portals A knight’s and squire's primary purpose is to lead the offenses to destroy portals. During the day, they remain positioned at the banner by the Kingdom's defensive line, ready to launch an attack at the Monarch's command. When four coins are paid to the banner, knights or squires start a charge towards the nearest portal in that direction. The soldiers will immediately follow their liege into battle. – All knights for that side are sent at once. and – Spending four coins at the banner, only sends one squire/knight including their soldiers to attack. Sending more groups to battle requires additional four coins payments. At the portal, squires/knights stand in front of their soldiers, protecting them while they shoot at the portal frame. Incoming greedlings will attack the squire/knight, sometimes being slain immediately, sometimes being blocked by them, and sometimes knocking one of their coins away. The soldiers might accidentally shoot the monsters coming out of the portal. Occasionally one or two monsters will temporarily break through a squire's/knight's defense and knock a soldier's bow off; however, if his bow is not stolen by a greedling, the villager will try to pick it back up and, as long as the squire/knight still stands, return to the fight. If said villager had his coin taken away (and turned into a vagrant), then a new soldier will immediately be recruited from the central kingdom and run towards the portal to replace the fallen one. Fighting continues until either the portal is destroyed or the attack party is eliminated. Escort the bomb – Two melee warriors are needed to escort the bomb towards the cave and destroy it.